Weak, Wimpy, Whiny Preachers are Wrong–Franklin Graham is Right!

Jim Wallis and his pathetic passel of political parsons want Franklin Graham’s scalp and they prefer to take it with a meat cleaver. This week, a cadre of careless, critical, and caustic far left preachers (like trained seals) attacked Graham for uttering common sense relating to the treatment of Blacks by Police officers. Graham wrote, “Listen up–Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and everybody else. Most police shootings can be avoided. It comes down to respect for authority and obedience. If a police officer tells you to stop, you stop. If a police officer tells you to put your hands in the air, you put your hands in the air.” He went on to remind parents to teach their children to obey authority. But then, it doesn’t take much training for even someone with an IQ equivalent to his ring size to know that you don’t fight a man with a gun!

What sane person would disagree with such good advice? Note that the worthy advice was sent to everyone; however, Jim Wallis of Sojourners took exception. Jim thought Graham was racist and heartless. Jim parades as an evangelical, having discarded the rags of his fundamentalist past, but he is really a spokesman for the left. It is embarrassing to mention it but far left billionaire George Soros gave Jim’s nonprofit group $200,000! Jim denied it on a talk show but later had to backtrack and admitted the sullied but substantial gift.

Speaking of generous, Jim, who was Marxist in his youth (now, only a socialist), is paid $218,000 per year for his efforts in laying guilt on middle class whites for the condition and treatment of Blacks. He tries to identify with common people but the average American makes $50,000 per year; so, Jim, you ain’t one of us.

In reality Jim is the liberal white man’s Al Sharpton although Jim reads a teleprompter better than Al. Jim and his motley crew of leftist clergymen didn’t like Graham’s suggestion that maybe parents could do a better job in rearing their offspring. Duh, is that in question?

The Sojourners crowd thinks of Jesus as a skinny dude wearing sandals, hair to his shoulders, drinking a bottle of Perrier water while he signs up unregistered voters for Democrats. Informed people know that Christ came to die for our sins thereby changing the way we live and providing a home in Heaven rather than Hell. Christ was more concerned about people than problems. Social Gospelers like Jim are more concerned about the environment than they are about eternity. Just as the social gospel failed in the early 20th century so it is failing today.

Wallis and his sycophants responded to Graham’s advice by thrusting a rusty dagger into his back. Many famous leftist evangelicals signed onto the response and rebuke of Graham. The pompous blowhards mentioned Graham’s “outsized influence coupled with apparent ignorance.” There, isn’t that gracious and broadminded and really tolerant? They continued in their self-righteous rant with “We will not tolerate this type of flippant, patronizing commentary from faith leaders on critical issues that mean life and death for many in the body of Christ and in communities across America. We won’t tolerate it, even one more day.” Who do these guys think they are? They have as much power as a 40 watt bulb. What can they do but tolerate it and send out press releases and a few tweets.

In their open letter to Graham, they told him he had “sinned against” them and his statement had “hurt and influenced thousands.” He was accused of being “crude, insensitive, and paternalistic” and had “oversimplified” the situation. However, Graham had simply said that young people should be taught to obey police officers and never resist; that way they will stay alive. Sounds very simple and it would have been better for everyone (except the race baiters) if his advice had been followed in the Brown case.

Most youth are not the most astute thinkers but I remind them that when they have a problem with a cop, they must understand that he has a billy club, handcuffs, a couple of guns, mace, and a radio that can bring a swarm of cop cars into the neighborhood in minutes. I think Graham gave some practical advice.

Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown are at the center of this discussion and when all relevant facts are acknowledged and one puts aside his terror of condemning black parents, then of course, they failed. It is not necessary to repeat the unsavory record of each young man. Nor is it necessary to prove that had they followed Graham’s advice, they would still be alive as would some protestors; and others would not have been bankrupted by “peaceful” protestors.

Wallis reaches way back for Jim Crow and for plantation owners for help in his effort to take down Graham. But those terrible episodes have nothing to do with young Black thugs who “feel their oats” and defy police instructions. If it turns out that the police are wrong then they can file a complaint and a whole bevy of civil rights attorneys will line up to take their cases and get justice–and a potful of money for everyone.

Graham’s critics brought up “mass incarceration and criminalization,” but they would have been wiser not to call attention to that. Permit me to elucidate. Homicide is the leading cause of deaths among black men in U.S. and 90% of the killers are also black. Between 1976 and 2005 Blacks committed more than half of all murders in the U.S. with only about 13% of the population. In cities under black rule (mayors and often police chiefs) such as Cleveland, Washington, New Orleans, Atlanta, Memphis, Newark, Richmond, Detroit, and Philadelphia corruption, crime, and chaos are common. Blacks often complain about the drug laws putting so many blacks in prison but Black politicians in DC led the effort to pass those laws. Blacks yell about “over-policing” yet that’s where the 911 calls come from!

The holy reverends really ran off the rails when they wrote: “Your blanket insistence on obedience in every situation exposes an ignorance of church history.” But Graham did not say or imply such a thing. There are times when Christians must disobey some unjust laws. I would not always obey without question if I’m stopped for giving gospel literature on the street, etc., but if an officer pulls his gun, I’ll back off, file a complaint, have my day in court and collect a hundred thousand from the government. And continue my Christian activity.

The epistle from the holy reverends even compared the protestors in Ferguson to principled Christians in the past who paid with their lives to stand true to the Gospel. That is a deceitful, disgraceful, and despicable comparison.

Wallis, in his youth, danced with glee when he heard that the U.S. had lost the war in Vietnam; and he and his parson pals can’t hold Graham’s coat with respect to work with the diseased, desperate, and depressed people of the world. Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse has been helping mostly black people around the world for 40 years and he has hugged and helped thousands of Blacks while Wallis shakes the hand of “oppressed” Blacks saying, “I feel your pain.”

And for Jim Wallis to accuse Graham–with his Samaritan’s Purse– of being unkind, uncaring, and unthoughtful is like a skunk accusing a rabbit of having bad breath!

Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, author of 14 books, frequent guest on television and radio talk shows, and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Three years ago, the second edition of ISLAM: America's Trojan Horse! was published, and his new eBook, The God Haters is available for $9.99 from www.thegodhaters.com. These columns go to newspapers, magazines, television, and radio stations. His other web sites are www.cstnews.com and www.Muslimfact.com. Contact Don for an interview or talk show.

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